With school ended and summertime in full swing, I'm trying to figure out our new routine! I love the slow rhythm of summer....the more relaxed mornings and the extra free time throughout the day! Once I help Jay out of the house in the morning, the littles and I eat a leisurely breakfast and hang out in our jammies for much of the morning if we don't have any plans. I love that we were outside at 8am this morning and they were playing in the sandbox in their pajamas! To me, that just screams summer! So does the multiple times in the pool throughout the day! I love that!
Having some kind of structured activity or adventure a couple of days each week is important, too! Sometimes I need a reason to get out of the house and the kids need a change of scenery so that the days we are home in our jammies for too long or spending lazy afternoons in the pool stay special...and don't become the dreaded "B" word! (boring;)
With a very tight budget and the challenge of having multiple kids over such a variety of age ranges, finding things to do that are fun for the majority and affordable can be tough! Plus, I don't want to get overwhelmed by all the things I COULD do with them.....I need to leave time for jammie mornings and pool afternoons, too!
What's a mom to do, right?!?
Well, so far, I've decided to just enjoy my kids, pray for what the best activity for us that day is, and see what happens! You know what? It's been working so far!
The littles have had a couple of play dates, Ellie was invited to sleep over a friend's house, we've gone to the library, had a rainy day movie afternoon with the video we rented from the library, we went out for ice cream once(so far!), and we had a picnic at the beach! Today I found out there was a circus in town! Since Jay doesn't work tomorrow, he said it would be a fun way to start the long weekend. I will pack some water bottles and we will get a few snacks to share tonight! So the kids might be tired and cranky tomorrow, but we will have some exciting family time tonight! Bonus...they offered a family coupon, so it was affordable!
Our local theater is offering free movies a couple of mornings each week. They are repeats, but it's still a fun thing to do! I'm planning on using that as an outing most weeks.
My sister sent me info on a local AHA! that's all for kids next Thursday from 5-9. There are all kinds of activities from touch tanks and rock walls to Lego building stations and Pirate activities.....and Portuguese food. (That will be Jay's inspiration to go!)
I want the summer to be fun and to do things with the kids....and I want to have that carefree timelessness that lazy summer days are known for to recharge before the school year arrives again and busy, busy, busy takes over!
Every year, summer starts and I feel like we have so much time! Then it ends, and I lament how fast it went and that we didn't do more! This year, I'm hoping to have a better balance so that, when the summer ends, I can look back at it feeling grateful for the time we had together and the fun memories we made!
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| Luke loves pool time with Daddy! |
